What beach is this? (West of Esperance)

Submitted: Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 18:57
ThreadID: 137516 Views:4823 Replies:5 FollowUps:9
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Looking on my maps and Google Earth, I see a beach approx. 25 to 30 ks due west of Esperance (maybe 50 by road?). None of my maps have a name for it. It appears to run from Butty Head at the eastern end, westwards towards Shelley Beach. Looks like it's about 10 to 12 ks long.

Does anyone know anyhting about it? Is camping allowed? It also appears to not be in a national park so wondering if dogs would be allowed there?

This is really important because....my daughter is showing an interest in coming camping with us in her RAV 4. BUT, with her dog (grrrr) So I'm looking for a reasonable beach where we can camp right on it or very close to, that is dog friendly, and where I can teach her sand driving.

Any help with that beach, or other suitable beaches either side of Esperance, would be greatly appreciated.
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Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 20:36

Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 20:36
Appear to be tracks all along the length of the beach, so well trafficked.
It is also possible to drive along the beach NW from Cape LeGrand beyond the boundary of the Park, but I don't know about camping.
Cheers,
Peter
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Follow Up By: noggins - Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 20:48

Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 20:48
From my memory , not that it's all that great these days, Munglinup is about the same distance from Esperance and allows dogs at the beach campsite, There's plenty of tracks along the beach for 4wd's and quiet camping, some are VERY soft sand, there's also a CP on the Munglinup road short of the beach that gets good reviews.


R
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Reply By: Ron N - Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 22:03

Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 22:03
Russell - It does appear to be an un-named beach, backed by dunes along a fair bit of its length.
It's adjacent to Lake Mortijinup, which is a Nature Reserve - but that un-named beach is not included in that Reserve.
Neither is the un-named beach included in Stokes National Park.

However - there are restrictions on camping there - the W.A. camping rules that state that no camping is allowed outside designated (Shire Council or DBCA controlled) camping areas, and caravan parks, anywhere in W.A.

You are allowed to camp on freehold property for up to 3 days with the landowners permission.
The beach is not freehold property, it is "unallocated Crown Land", under the management control of the Shire of Esperance.

Visit Esperance - Bush Camping

You can apply to camp outside designated camping areas and caravan parks, but that entails a detailed application with many questions being asked, and involves an application fee of $105!

This application is essentially designed to allow contractors and workers and visitors, to obtain formal approval for camping on properties that are not campsites or caravan parks.

Application for approval to camp - W.A.

This doesn't stop many people from pitching camp in nice, seemingly isolated spots - but be aware that rangers do patrol for illegal camping, even though Esperance is pretty laid-back as regards 4WD recreation.

So you can camp and run the risk of being caught and fined - or you can camp in a designated DBCA or Esperance Shire-controlled campsite.

Also, be aware that that beach is well-exposed to strong (and cold - even in mid-Summer) Southerly winds, straight off the Southern Ocean.
To add to that, the vegetation is low (scrubland and low mallees) and offers little protection from strong, cold winds.

And finally, there appears to be no facilities of any kind along that entire section of coast.
That'd be a proper "rough bush camping spot", IMO.

Note also, that dogs are not welcome in W.A. National Parks, and fox baits have been laid in many areas of these parks, and even adjoining areas.

Cheers, Ron.
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Reply By: Frank P (NSW) - Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 22:29

Sunday, Dec 02, 2018 at 22:29
EOTopo shows a track named Roses Beach East Track at the eastern end leading to the beach, which suggests the beach might be named Roses Beach. That might help if you're making enquiries.

I have no information on camping, sorry.
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 01:15

Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 01:15
Good work, Frank. Roses-Quallup Beach it is. Bushtrax has the most detailed information you could ever want - and Beachsafe has an exceptionally detailed description of the beach itself, plus the surrounding geography and geology.

Bushtrax - Roses-Quallup Beach

Beachsafe - Roses-Quallup Beach

It's a fair bit more inhospitable, as regards camping, than I even imagined - and the beach is rated 8 out of 10 on the hazard scale - classified as "highly hazardous".

I note that Beachsafe state that Roses-Quallup Beach is part of "Butty Head Nature Reserve".
This is slightly incorrect - the Reserve is called "Butty Harbour Nature Reserve" (Crown Reserve 24486) - and it is used as one of the three major water source reserves for Esperance Town water supply.

The water is drawn from a sizeable perched aquifer within the Butty Harbour Reserve.

The W.A. Water Corporation holds a Ground Water Licence (GWL 156785) under the "Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914 (WA)" to draw 0.95Gl annually from the aquifer.

As an important underground water resource, the land included in Butty Harbour Reserve, would never be approved for any camping purposes.

As of early 2016, the Butty Harbour Reserve was proposed by the W.A. Planning authorities, to become a National Park - possibly as early as next year.

Cheers, Ron.

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Follow Up By: Rainman WA - Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 16:09

Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 16:09
Is Bushtrax still working, every time I've looked recently I keep getting a page saying 403 Forbidden?
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 17:05

Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 17:05
Yes, I get the 403 error as well (Chrome), but if I use VPN in Opera and choose a server outside Australia the site comes up fine.

If I use VPN and choose a server in Sydney, the page comes up, but not the map.

Wierd.

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Follow Up By: Ron N - Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 23:40

Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 23:40
I'm using Windows 7 with Chrome and the Bushtrax site works just fine for me.

Cheers, Ron.
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Follow Up By: Rainman WA - Wednesday, Dec 05, 2018 at 09:40

Wednesday, Dec 05, 2018 at 09:40
Interesting, I'm using Windows 7 and Chrome at work and still get the 403 forbidden message.
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Wednesday, Dec 05, 2018 at 10:48

Wednesday, Dec 05, 2018 at 10:48
Rainman, I'd suggest it's the particular brand of Anti-Virus that is installed on your computer that is causing the problem.

Some of the A-V programmes are particularly sensitive, and will restrict access to a particular site, as soon as they pick up a symbol or line of code on that site, that they have been programmed to recognise as a virus threat.

When you get sites such as Bushtrax, that are particularly rich in graphics, commands, and code, it can set off your particular A-V, which then blocks the site.

I use only Malwarebytes as my A-V - other common A-V programmes such as Norton or MacAfee are noted to be highly sensitive and very controlling, on what sites the computer connects to.

Business computers in particular, are generally programmed with high levels of security.

Cheers, Ron.
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Wednesday, Dec 05, 2018 at 12:16

Wednesday, Dec 05, 2018 at 12:16
That figures, Ron, thanks.

My AV is Microsoft Security Essentials. I get the 403 error on Bushtrax with any browser (I have 4 for testing purposes on a website I help administer), but can connect ok with a VPN.

Cheers
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Reply By: Les - PK Ranger - Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 07:47

Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 07:47
From the looks of the pics, and isolation, I wouldn't like take a Rav4 anywhere near that part of the coast, especiallu if a driver had little beach experience (not sure if this is the case).

It's a long way east, but similar in looks for dunes access etc from the link pics above.
We drove the fairly popular Bilbunya Dunes beach side track some 40km from the east end to the Israelite Bay track in June / July.

It was by no means as angled or soft as the Coorong and SE beaches of SA can get, but it certainly was enough to make the vehicles work very hard pushing through.
And yes we'd aired down to a decent 12psi, had to keep up around 70 to float a bit, but still you had to slow at times to work up a beach again, or avoid seaweed / debris line on the beach.

It chewed up fuel pretty good.

Beautiful beaches and sand in WA though :)
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Reply By: Russell P5 - Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 14:09

Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 14:09
Soooo.... it doesn't look like we'll be going there anytime soon....

Thanks very much all, for the responses and help. I'll keep looking for a better spot.
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Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 19:40

Monday, Dec 03, 2018 at 19:40
Did you mention where home base is Russell ?
Maybe people here can give you some beach suggestions close to home if you post that up here.
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